so, in my hunt for new facial products for me to use, i ran across netrogena’s visibly even cleanser. netrogena has been gearing their line of products towards women of color, and so far… the results have been decent. theyve always been good to me with their skin cleansers, and my past experiences with their foaming cleanser and similar products were good, so i decided to give it a try.

first couple of days are going good. doesn’t leave my skin too dry, but im giving it more time before i start looking for any serious change. of course, ill be happy to keep you updated on whats going down.

also, i decided to give the ‘lay it on thick’ as a face moisturizer. with the large amounts of vitamin e and shea oil, along with the great results ive had on my skin, i figured its got to be pretty good for my face as well, so im giving it a go.

really, these are only temporary hold overs until i can find a face product system i feel comfortable investing some money in. ladies, if you have any suggestions… let me know.

Why? Well, Shapley’s wins for the simple fact that when consistently used, i can get at least 2 to 3 inches of hair growth within 3 months. yes, i will break out the picture to prove that shortly. its everything that Monistat wants to be, without the hair shedding when you stop using it.

I ranked MegaTek Pet rebuilder over the Mane and Tail just because of what the Pet Rebuilder did for me in terms of stopping breakage, which is my main problem. It singlehandedly solved the issue of breakage Monistat kinda triggered… and reversed any other breakage as result. i use it as the Shower Rinse Conditioner anytime I can. For people who wear their hair OUT tho… I would say the Mane and Tail Conditioner is best for you… it keeps your hair healthy and thick, without having to rinse it out within 30 minutes of putting it in. lol.

Infusium also wins for its anti breakage properties. I like to add this to a little bit of rosemary spray (ladies who follow know whats up) for added strengthening properties. especially love to use this out the shower right before blowdrying.

Finally, Im loving what Darcy’s Peach Oil is doing for both my hair AND skin. in a winter where for the first time… i had dry skin as a result of dry, cold weather (WEIRD)… this oil helped my hair AND my skin in a real way, while leaving me smelling like a fresh peach. :D

honorable mention to Palmers Organic Olive Oil Spray. that was #5.2. lol.
and ladies who have been following, dont think that this is a negative reflection on Ovation whatsoever. i just havent had enough time with it as of yet. well see where that goes…. along with all the new products i hope to try out soon. Dr. Bonner’s hair line, Surge, and still.. Kinky/Curly.

getting back into the groove of things slowly. thought this might help you ladies with any questions you have or tips you need for new products, and what youre looking for. if you have any questions, feel free to shoot them at me. ill be back soon to get into Monistat vs. Shapley’s, as planned.

hey there.
so. its time to get into bio-oil for the face. while it has been a certified win for me body-wise (great for evening tone, reducing scars and stretchmarks), ive been trying it on my face, seeing if it would produce the same result. now my main concern with bio oil and my face is clogging my pores. i already have fairly oily skin, and i will break out if i dont watch it. what i was hoping for was help with these little lines im starting to see around my eyes, dark circles under my eyes, along with any fading of old acne spots.
welp, i pretty much got what i expected all across the board. the good news is yes. bio oil is nice for your face. especially for people who have dark circles under their eyes. it evens out the tone of your skin across the board. especially for acne spots. ive got alot of fading in old marks on my face, which dont seem to clear up as fast as they used to (oh boy. lol). another win is the fact that it has helped decrease those little lines under and around my eyes… and kept those lines from deepening any further. its pretty great.
the bad news? yeah. i do break out a bit. even if im washing and witch hazel-ing every night, im still gonna catch a blemish here and there. i had to break out the proactiv for the first time in a while to calm it down a bit, and that is working (their green tea moisturizer is pretty good too… i got it for free tho. dont know if id pay for it just yet). and any blemishes i do catch from the bio oil are REALLY small… and heal up quickly (odd enough). the best thing for me to do at this point is only use it under my and around my eyes. maybe on my neck and chest too.
in all, id definitely give it a try if youre curious. i would highly suggest that you make sure you have a good facial soap on you (neutrogena face bar or dr. bonners peppermint soap are good for me). i wash at night, apply the bio oil to the undereye area, sleep with it on, then wash it off first thing in the morning. if i need it (which i usually do), ill throw on the proactiv green tea moisturizer for a nice morning tingle.

if youre reading, hope it works for you.

now, on to part two… megatek and your nails. the surprise win.
now from the get go… ive always had a hard time growing out my nails. i didnt do it much as a kid because 1. i couldnt (lol), and 2. i played piano, and if your nails were too long, my teachers would stop pratice and make me cut them. lol (whatup ms. kliensasser/huang). as ive gotten older, its gotten better. i can grow them out, but only to a certain point before they get brittle and break. and they grow so slow.
now my main and only intent for using megatek was for moisturizing and strengthening my hair, which its doing great (hope to have more results for you in a few more weeks). but it turns out its ALSO really great for both strengthening and growing your nails too. its been great. it was weird, because after using the megatek on my hair, i found myself having to trim my nails much more often than i used to. and when i cut them… they were really strong and thick. sure enough, when i started applying megatek directly to my nails… i got great results. so yeah ladies… if your also looking for nail strengthening, megatek is also a winner for you.

thats about it for now. next post, ill be talking in depth about monistat and your hair. i know a lot of you freak out when you read it, but you know i wouldnt be talking about it if it didnt work. also gonna look into taking bio oil to the next level… and using it in my hair. i have tons of pros and cons to go through before i do it tho.

hey people. long time no blog. sorry about that, as i have been birthday partying with friends, sending family back to college, and just generally getting my house in order for the last week and a half.
but lets get back to it. lol.

first and foremost… Shapley’s MTG. wow. what an unexpected win this product has been. i honestly went into using this product with NO ideal how it was going to turn out… and its been nothing but WONDERFUL. the fact that it smells like a barbeque sulfur party in your hair (and everyones invited!!!) is almost negated by the results that ive gotten in the last month alone. ill give you a background on what it is and how ive been using it on my hair.

surprisingly enough, this is (once again) an equine product mainly for use on animals like horses, cats, dogs when they have patchy spots in their fur and need help growing it out. it was brought to my attention by a close friend of mine who has a nerdery for horses AND hair; a great combination. lol. after convincing me of the product, its results, being reassured that this is tested safe for humans (it is), and being forewarned about the smell, i decided to give it a try. figured i had nothing to lose.
once it got here, i discovered that this was an oil-based product, with a bit of yellow grit (the active ingredients) built in. i was thinking it would be some kind of creme, and usually i keep a good oil moisturizer on me, so it was on me to figure out a way to use it effectively. most of the time, i take whatever oil im using and add it to my daily Rosemary Spray for extra moisturizing. so instead of using my usual palmers organic olive oil for hair as the oil in my Rosemary Spray, i switched it out for the Shapley’s… also hoping it would negate the smell a bit.
well i gotta be honest… the rosemary didnt help the smell ANY. as a matter of fact, the shapley’s just made the rosemary smell worse. hilarious. but i started using it every other day for the last 4 weeks. i try to use MegaTek Conditioner and the Olive Oil spray as a cover for the smell of the Shapley’s, but the smell usually disappears over the span of a day or so. i also gave my braids a weekly rinse, which also helped out alot.
as for my results… ridiculous, frankly. and a little overwhelming.
along the edges of my scalp where there was no hair (it usually gets braided up)… i have new growth of hair all around. some people like to call this baby hair. iont care what you call it, its GREAT to see it come in so thick and full for once. mainly the results can be seen in the new growth of my hair; the points between my scalp, and the spot where my braids were started. and this is amazing. usually, i can get an half inch out of my hair every 5 to 7 weeks, which is when i usually take out and rebraid my hair. we just passed the official 4 week mark as of LAST monday… and i already have reached the half inch of normal growth… along with extra growth thats just… not normal for me. lol. its to the point where i have to go get my hair rebraided two weeks earlier than normal… because the new growth is out of control (and making my braids look kinda raggedy. lol).

i will go through a few more braiding cycles using this product, then post some pictures of the results. i took photos of where my hair was after getting it trimmed up in late may. hopefully these results are real, and ill see a difference in the photos. but if this is really is my hair… then the results are really, really amazing. i would STRONGLY recommend this product to anyone whos looking to grow out hair… but doesnt mind a product that doesnt smell exactly like peaches and roses. lol. i will definitely keep you updated on this.

next up by special request…
what is and how to make the Rosemary and Infusium 23 moisturizing spray (for Raina).
now rosemary is something i love and adore for my hair. ive harped on about it in several previous blogs. high in natural biotin (wonderful for hair) and supposedly really great for cell stimulation and circulation, this has been nothing but hair nerd win for the last 3 years of this whole hair growth process (thanks for the tip, gramma!). as time goes on, i find leave in conditioners and hair oils that i like to team up with the rosemary for an extra kick. but what i found to be the best so far is Infusium 23. now this was a product that i hadnt used in my hair at all since cutting it all off and starting over… which means it was like brand new to my hair follicles. and the hair LOVES it. especially teamed up with the rosemary.
making it is really easy. follow my previous log on rosemary for pointers. go get some rosemary, boil it down for about 15-25 minutes, run it thru a coffee strainer to remove any dirt or unnecessary grit. then go ahead and pour that into a spray bottle. from there, i use this formula for mixing the two together… 3 parts (3/4ths) rosemary tea and 1 part (1/4th) of infusium. oil is optional. from there, shake the two up, and get to spritzing on your scalp.
so whats the point of mixing them? well, its basically like a double team for your hair. the rosemary promotes health and normal growth, while the Infusium ensures that my hair stays healthy and strong. while optional, you can throw in an oil like Shapley’s or Palmers Olive Oil… and youve got an all around daily moisturizer that just… cant be beat.
try it out. you can do the rosemary by itself or mix in the infusim and/or whatever oil you like… but its definitely worth a try.

now i didnt forget about the MegaTek in all of this. lol. ive been using MT more as a sidenote to moisturize the braid and hair shaft, while using the shapley’s/rosemary mix directly on my scalp for conditioning/growth. once i take out the braids in a few days, we’ll get into MegaTek, her cousin MicroTek the Shampoo, and its nephew MegaTek Coat Rebuilder (which is COMPLETELY different than the regular leave in MT conditioner… the Coat Rebuilder MUST be rinsed out according to directions). excited about that too.

okay. ovation cell therapy. wow.
since blogging about it a few days ago, ive noticed that ive received a LOT of hits to the blog from women who are looking for news and results on how Ovation works. which means a LOT of you out there are looking into it and are just as interested in it as i am. i really am intrigued by the product… just not the price. lol. it is okay however… since they do have a 6 ounce starter system for their product… which would be perfect for me. enough to figure out if it works or not, and not too much to be wasted if i absolutely hate it. its still going to be at least $60 for the entire treatment; shampoo, deep conditioner and a leave in creme for daily use. it comes together, and you cant split them apart… making it so pricey. but its better than the $120 that they want for the full starter kit. honestly ladies, its going to be a while before i even get to use it… ive got a full bottle of MicroTek shampoo that still needs to be used in its entirety before i purchase anything else. but yeah. it looks like Ovation is next in line. then Surge.
but again, im jumping ahead of myself. lol. again, ill keep you updated on when i buy and start to use it, of course.

bringing me to other random nerdery… the overWHELMING amount of hair products i keep running into that id love to try. man, i cant keep track… surge, ovation, kinky/curly, pantene, aussie…. so many products, and LITERALLY… so little time. its hard to pick which comes next. but as i find them, i will blog about them… just so i can remember everything i need to get back to.

also, on the skin care tip… Bio Oil has been great for my face, but like i said earlier… is causing some breakouts because of its naturally dense oil texture. great for evening out the skin tone and helping lil mini wrinkles… not so much for blemishes. so i bought some proactiv to help balance that out. now proactiv has always worked for me when it comes to breakouts. but again, like the hair, there are so many products out there that im ready to test and see what works for me. especially when it comes to my pores. my normal neutrogena pore refining cleanser isnt kickin it anymore. :( after asking my girls, i found some great products from several different brands and techniques im looking into. oil cleansing, mud masks (always effective), aveeno, clinque and the winner so far… murad. everything is offering something different… but im just keeping an eye out for anything that helps with pores and stops these wrinkles from coming in. again, ill keep an eye out and keep you updated.

well, thats basically everything ive got for now (which is still to much, lol). ill be back in no more than 2 days to tell you how the MircoTek goes with my hair. looking forward to it.

ive been out and away, partying for the most part.
but that doesnt mean im not watching my hair. lol.
Quick Hair Update:
i have to give it to my friend @inaccuratemap (twitter).
she put me onto shapley’s, even though i was a a bit reluctant to try another product. especially equine. lol.
but she was right. shapley’s is the truth.
i have new growth (the amount of new hair thats come in since braiding) coming in on my braids as if i have left them in for 6 to 7 weeks.
monday was officially week 4.
looks like ill have to take them down and out next week and get it rebraided. you cant let new growth your hair get too long while braided, as you risk pulling the hair out at the roots. especially around the edges.
MegaTek has been amazing as well. ill see how it really went once my hair comes out of braids, but it feels so healthy right now. we’ll see.

on another note, bio oil is great for your face as i mentioned,
but like i thought… it IS a bit oily and i have had a couple of breakouts.
its okay. im going to neutralize that with some proactive i just reordered.
i also ordered that Green Tea Mosturizer. ill make sure i report back on that.
now, while i love what the bio oil does, but i hate the breakouts.
my skin in general is kinda craptapular, and likes to scar and bruise easily.
that also applies to breakouts, of course. and the older i get (eek),
the slower it takes my face to clear up completely from any scarring.
oy vey.

i also had my first professional facial this week. interesting experience. we’ll get to that too.

in the meantime, if you have any suggestions on any good facial moisturizers i should use,
along with anything thats good for making your pores disappear (help me. theyre getting bigger.) let me know.
i have to start getting into skincare products more.
be back with more soon.

boy. i dont know about this one.
ive been reading a lot about a new product on the market called Ovation Cell Therapy. ive also been doing a little bit of research on the product, and what the big deal is. what ingredients are they using, what are the results people have been getting, and most important, is it really worth the $100 (plus shipping) they are asking me for.http://www.ovationhair.com/

now, i have no problem spending the money. however, if i am going to do it, id love to know that there WILL be some kind of results. other than the online guarantee you get at the site, and their testimonials (that i dont even know are real or not). but i wouldnt be intrigued if there were not decent reviews out there in google land.

really, ive been looking around at several products lately… im just hearing about something called surge. supposedly really great for accelerated hair growth and repair. they have a braid sheen and everything. too bad its kinda hard to track down on the internet. not really available on amazon like other products… gotta go hunting for this one. however, the talk ive heard about it is great, and its not nearly as high priced.

eventually, i plan to use both, but surge seems to be winning right now.
ill keep you updated, since im still in the middle of MegaTek and Shapleys right now.

since were on that, might as well talk about what progress im getting out of MT and SMTG. so far… its been wonderful. growth and thickness wise. ive combined the shapleys with my daily rosemary spray (and no, it did NOT help the smell at ALL, lol) and have been spraying it directly to the scalp and root of my hair. ive been taking the megatek after that and moisturizing the remaing shaft of my hair/braids, and sprizing it with a little palmers olive oil for extra spoilage.

now maybe its just me, but i have a LOT of new growth already for my braids, and i just got them done three weeks ago. were at a point ALREADY where i would normally get my hair rebraided because some of the new growth (especially in the back of my head) is serious and long. and the thickness from the megatek is ridiculous. my braids are frizzing out with whatever results im getting right now. plus, as always, megatek leaves my braids feeling nice and conditioned, while neutralizing the shapley’s smell.

greatness.

really excited to see what its looking like in about 2 or 3 braiding cycles (12 to 18 weeks).

anyways, if youve heard of any of these products before… let me know if you had any results or good progress with them. im always looking for feedback.